Blair’s less than pretty straight kind of Referendum promise…

As mentioned in the Britblog round up, Paul Dixon’s piece for the London Review blog on Blair’s peacemaking efforts is worth a read, not only in the context of the former UK PM’s remarks on Iraq, but in particular, his recalling of just what he told the readers of the Irish News and News Letter on the morning of the 1998 referendum:

Representatives of parties intimately linked to paramilitary groups can only be in a future Northern Ireland government if it is clear that there will be no more violence and the threat of violence has gone. That doesnt just mean decommissioning but all bombing, killings, beatings, and an end to targeting, recruiting, and all the structures of terrorism.

About Mick Fealty

Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty